The oldest evidence of Christianity north of the Alps has been uncovered by historians

The first known evidence of Christianity in northern Italy was recently uncovered by archaeologists, who called the find “one of the most important pieces of evidence for early Christianity.”

The artifact, released by the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum last week, is called the Frankfurt silver script. Discovered in 2018, the text was analyzed and studied for years before it was released to the public this month.

The Frankfurt silver inscription is an inscription on a silver plate with 18 lines written in Latin. It dates from between 230 and 260 AD and was found wrapped in a small silver amulet.

In a press release translated from German, the museum explained that the item was found in a third-century tomb in Hesse, Germany, in the former Roman city of Nida. The text begins, “In the name of Titus the Holy, the Holy, the holy, the holy! In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!”

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Saint Titus was a first century Christian missionary and disciple of Paul the Apostle. This text also calls for the spell to protect “the person who surrenders to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

“What is in heaven, what is on earth, and what is below, and every tongue confesses (to Jesus Christ),” the text concludes.

Written in Latin, the text took several weeks to decipher due to its decrepit state. Archaeologists needed to “digitally unwrap” the silver plate, which had been folded for about 1,800 years.

Using computed tomography and modern technology, the text was finally decrypted in May. Then it was translated for a long time.

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The early Christian scriptures were written in Latin, which was unusual at the time. (Frankfurt Archaeological Museum)

“Sometimes it took weeks, even months, to get the next idea,” says Goethe University professor Markus Scholz about the translation process. “I brought in experts in the history of theology, among other things, and piece by piece we approached the text together and finally explained it.”

Scholz added that the document was “extremely complex” and called its author an “experienced writer.”

“It is unusual for a text to be written entirely in Latin,” Scholz said. This is not normal yet. Such texts were often written in manuscripts in Greek or Hebrew.

Not only is the inscription not written in Hebrew, it does not refer to Judaism at all, nor does it contain any pagan elements, which makes it even more unique.

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The silver foil was “digitally opened” and translated by experts. (Frankfurt Archaeological Museum)

“It is unusual that there is no mention in the text of any belief other than Christianity,” added the museum’s press release. “Generally up to the fifth century, a mixture of different beliefs can always be expected in precious metal jewelry of this type. Often there are still elements from Judaism or pagan influences.”

“But in this verse there is no mention of Yahweh, the almighty God of the Jewish religion, or the archangels Raphael, Gabriel, Michael or Suriel, there are no ancestors of Israel like Isaac or Jacob. And there are no pagan elements like demons.”

A press release called the painting “one of the most important pieces of evidence of early Christianity in the world.”

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“Until now, there is no original, authentic evidence of pure Christianity north of the Alps,” explained the statement. “Everything [other] findings are at least 50 years younger.”

A silver plate was found in a third-century grave. (Frankfurt Archaeological Museum)

“There are historical references to early Christian groups in Gaul and possibly the province of Upper Germania in the late second century,” the statement said. However, some evidence of Christian life in the northern Alpine regions of the Roman Empire generally comes from the fourth century AD.

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“These 18 lines, experts agree, will greatly enrich previous research on the spread of Christianity and the later period of Roman rule on the right side of the Rhine.”